How did I Start Blogging & Some Tips for You to Start Your Own!

We all are busy seeing Sonam Ki Shaadi /Met Gala / Cannes, today Neha Dhupia got married and what not right, in the last one week? All of us are condemning and praising sitting at home. Damn people, did I say it’s wrong? Nope, not at all! It’s absolute fun to sit back and analyse whose and what style I like! I know, I seem to be judgmental but come on, who is not?

I have been apparently writing on and off for 4 years now, and people think I have just started this fancy for blogging like 6 months back…. And again, if I am judgmental, then people have all the rights to be so!  That’s coz, I have started working hard and doing everything possible to put out a 100% effort to make it happen.
I have been writing and styling since forever. Yes, my parents and relatives used to tease me when I was young about how funny I dress up or maybe it was too different for them, I would entirely brush it off and do whatever suited me. In the same manner, When I thought almost a year back that I should take blogging seriously, I saw one of my dear friends now put up a post on Facebook; looking for bloggers/influencers for an experimental shoot.

The crazy bitch in me came alive when I heard the word experimental, and it always does when it’s about something fun & new. So, after deciding some things to shoot, I went to the studio, there was an MUA. Frankly, I had never worked with a make-up artist before unless school dances count. With my beautiful block printed dress, I wanted to create a boho look, for me everything is boho, but in the process, it turned out to be something entirely different. Because the shoot turned out to be incredibly amazing! 
I created a look with a long maxi dress and a navy-blue blazer. Adding umpteen number of jewellery, like one fringe choker and a beaded necklace, yes both were a riot of colour and clashing, but I loved it. If you keenly observe I have a stained glass Jaipuri Danglers which are multi-colour. To top it I have a very bold makeup where I have multiple dots on my eyebrows & lips. Yes, some pictures might seem scary, some might call it ugly!
But you know what? I loved the shoot, it brought out confidence in me whether you are fat or have a face full of acne, if you think you can be in front of the camera don’t be shy, people talk coz they can’t do it. Like I was judging people in Cannes, coz I couldn’t go! Right?

This particular shoot was a year ago and, I can see how much I have grown and learnt in the past year! Look at how shy, conscious and scared, its shown in all my pictures! That’s how you start !

Some pointers to bloggers who want to make it through:

1. Start. No matter who thinks what, it’s okay, put it out anyway, even if no one is gonna read it!
2. Are you not good in English? Who cares, you can improve upon it (everyday people correct me on my spelling as I’m dyslexic). It didn’t stop me from writing.
3. Don’t start a blog thinking that you will earn, you won’t gain until and unless you are incredibly famous! Brands pay you with products, not money.
4. Blogging is a little like a rich man’s hobby, the more you invest, the better the returns, e.g., a better photographer, better clothes, better makeup artist, better locations and so on!
5. You think you are plump, really? (In this shoot I’m wearing an L size dress!) You know what, if you like what you write, and you are confident, everyone will love what you do!
6. Do you have a lot of acne/scars and a lot of other things on your face, so what who doesn’t? Everyone has – that’s why makeup is invented, sweetie!
7. People have told me you look better in pictures than in real life, so what, it’s the same with celebs, so be cool!
8. It’s not gonna be a cake walk, yes you won’t know what to write, you won’t know what to dress up as, you won’t know anything, you will learn it the hard way.
9. Being from a fashion background, I never had the problem in deciding what to style, but just keep on recreating a lot of celebs, famous blogger, famous personalities and yes give credit that you are re-creating.
10. Read, read a lot of magazines, blogs and articles will enhance your fashion vocabulary.
11. Make a list of top 50 national + international bloggers and see what they do on a daily basis. There is no textbook course here, you have to build your own path.
12. Even if you have one ensemble ready – go shoot, like you a lot of amateur photographers are looking out for models and bloggers to shoot with, experiment.
13. Nobody does anything exceptional in the first go. So, have patience, you will learn your angles, how to put makeup on, how to pose, how to talk to people, how to put it out on social media.
14. Yes, when you need to be really active on social media, if you want to be a blogger, if you are just an influencer you don’t really need to be a blogger.
15. Yes, you have to shamelessly publicise it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and so on. People are gonna talk about it initially, but they will realise it’s your hard work.
16. For Instagram, frankly speaking, I have not figured out my game. Still, I keep on experimenting, but there are a few apps like Preview, Plan, to figure out your Instagram Grid.
17. For photo editing, there are apps like Vsco, Photoshop Express, Lightroom, Snapseed, Prisma. Frankly google them, install each app and try which suits the best to you.
18. Don’t be afraid to try something new, yes it might not work out initially, but slowly you will be known for it!
19. It’s said that if you are not laughed at, your dreams are not big enough! So go crazy!
    

STYLE CHECK

Maxi Dress – Folklore INR 1299

Red Fringe Chocker – Accessorise INR 1899

Beaded Necklace – Ajio.com INR499

Navy Blazer – Sarojni INR200

Earings – Flea Market INR 150

Cuff – Commercial Street INR 400

| Photography – Dr Prem Sundar & Hima Reddy | MUA – Jeevita Gowda |

|Styling – The one & only |